“Ms. Zichal served as the top energy advisor to the President of the United States at a time when Cheniere was beginning construction on [Sabine Pass LNG],” Katie Pipkin, Cheniere's senior vice president of business development and communications told DeSmogBlog. “The meeting was simply to inform and update the administration on that project.”

Pipkin also denied that two separate meetings took place in January 2013 between Cheniere and Zichal, telling DeSmogBlog, “Our records indicate only one meeting with Zichal on the 29th.” She did not respond to repeated requests for clarification on that claim.

White House Open Door for Cheniere

According to a DeSmogBlog review of White House meeting logs, between 2009 and 2013, the Obama White House held 32 meetings with Cheniere board members and lobbyists, including the two attended by Souki, Desai and Outtrim.

Together, Souki and Outtrim attended four other meetings with White House officials and eight more each, either on their own or as part of other meeting blocs.

“Not Uncommon”

Some wonder whether Zichal will provide Cheniere even further top-level access to the Obama Administration if elected to the company's board.

“Heather Zichal taking a position on Cheniere's board of directors would be another example of the revolving door between those who set energy policies and the corporations that reap financial benefits from those policies,” Emily Wurth, water program director at Food & Water Watch, told DeSmogBlog.

“Cheniere will clearly profit from the Obama administration's support of LNG exports and now so could Heather Zichal.”

Matt Lehrich, assistant press secretary for the White House, described the meetings with Cheniere as “not uncommon” in response to a request for comment from DeSmogBlog.

“In the five years she worked at the White House, it was not uncommon for Heather to have multiple meetings in a day with a range of stakeholders, from environmental groups to industry to state and local officials,” said Lehrich.

“All told, I’m sure she had hundreds of meetings with dozens and dozens of organizations and companies. Hearing input from across the spectrum was an important part of her position.”

In other words, though Zichal and the Obama White House have kept the barn door open for Cheniere lobbyists, board members and executives, there is no guarantee the company's disgruntled shareholders will return the favor for Zichal.

Photo Credit: Heather Zichal speaks to the American Petroleum Institute in May 2012 | YouTube Screenshot

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